What is the current and future status of source-reduction and recycling?
HENDERSON: We’re the industry’s largest provider of recycling services, collecting more than 5,000,000 tons per year and processing that through 190 materials recovery facilities. We’re heavily invested in recycling, but the bottom line is recycling has to have a positive return on investments. When we are faced with declining markets and falling commodity prices, the industry is forced to maximize the efficiency of collection and processing operations. With processing, we’ve incorporated technologies like optical sorting and the best available equipment to maximize efficiency. The rest of the equation lies in the commodity value of the product. This is a commodity-based environment and what is not economical today to recycle may very well become economical in the near future.
